Top Emerging Android Apps: Games Rule With Rock the Vegas, Muffin Knight and Zombie Farming

This week’s Android listings are a real mixed bag of games from almost every genre. Whether your interest lies with MMOs, tower defense, traditional platforming, city building or casual titles, this week’s charts probably have a game for you. However if you want utilities, sports apps, photography tools, you’re out of luck this week. While new releases proved to be scarce, Game Insight and HandyGames were able to place their new games on the charts, but weren’t able to crack the upper reaches of them.

New Titles on the Android Top Grossing Apps List

(Update) Fashion Story – TeamLava continues to dominate the Android top grossing chart, with their game Fashion Story holding the same #7 spot it had last week. As with all the ‘Story’ games, players must set up a store and attract customers, but this time it’s a boutique clothing shop. Fashion Story was last updated on August 19th, and despite its status on the top grossing chart, according to the Android Marketplace, installs of the game have fallen sharply in the past 30 days.

Rock the Vegas – Next on the top grossing chart is the #18 app, Rock the Vegas, the latest game from Russian mobile powerhouse Game Insight. Launched last week, the game blends elements from city building, gambling and tycoon style games to create a unique sim where players must create a gambling paradise, but also get to try the games they’ve created. Rock the Vegas is free and supported by microtransactions.

(Update) World War –Storm8’s mobile MMO World War continues to be popular, this week showing up in the #20 spot despite not being updated since April 22nd. The cross-platform game allows players to choose from one of five countries – the US, the UK, Germany, China and Russia as they battle other players to become the dominant military presence after a disastrous nuclear war. According to its Android Marketplace listing, World War currently has over 2.8 million players.

(Update) Sentinel 3: Homeworld – After performing well last week on the paid Android charts, it’s no surprise to see Origin8’sSentinel 3: Homeworld crop up on this week’s top grossing charts. The $2.99 game is currently comfortably in the middle of the pack, sitting in the #26 spot. The tower defense game challenges players to wipe out a race of alien invaders on an inhospitable alien planet. While still performing well in the Marketplace, installs for Sentinel 3 have begun to drop off, so only time will tell if it will be able to knock off Robo Defense from its perennial position as the top Android tower defense game.

Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles – Closing out the top grossing rankings this week is #46 ranked Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles. A sci fi themed MMO from Texas based developer Spacetime Studios, the Xperia Play optimized game lets players choose from one of three classes (Commando, Operative, Engineer) and hop aboard a supercarrier spaceship called the USC Blackstar as it explores the furthest reaches of the galaxy. The game is free and monetizes through purchases of the in-game currency Platinum, which players can use to buy consumables, better equipment and and extra content.

New Titles on the Android Top Free Apps List

Google Books – Google’s own answer to e-readers, Google Books is this week’s #5 free app. The app allows readers to either download new books or search through a library of more than 3 million free books. The app was updated on October 5th to give users the ability to search in-books, use landscape mode for flowing text and add +1s to books while reading.

Pandora internet radio – A mainstay on the free charts, Pandora’s Android app is currently sitting in #8 spot. Pandora users can log in with their accounts to listen to their stations, but new users can also set up an account with the app. Pandora is a streaming service curates what music is served for the listener based on their favorite artists, songs or composers, using user feedback to determine what song to play next. Pandora Internet Radio is currently only available for US residents.

(Update) Angry Birds Seasons – The Angry Birds are now angrier, thanks to a new orange bird and an October 21st Ham’o’ween update that added 30 new levels. Currently the #13 free app for Android, Rovio’sAngry Bids Seasons has 205 levels total. Unlike the iOS version of the game, which costs $1.99, on Android Angry Birds Seasons is free and supported by ads.

Guns’n’Glory WW2 – A brand new game from German developer HandyGames takes us all the way down to the #39 spot on the free apps chart. Released at the end of Septmeber, Guns’n’Glory WW2 is a cartoonish, historic tower defense game set in the front lines of WW2 and is a sequel to the wild-west set original Guns’n’Glory. Players can choose to play either as the US forces or the German baddies, and the game features 12 maps, three difficulty modes and 4 different units on each side to recruit. The game is free to play, but players can also purchase coins to trade for better troops and battlefield improvements.

Zombie Farm – Last but not least is the #41 free app, Zombie Farm. Originally developed by The Playforge, the game was a runaway success for iPhone, but hasn’t quite hit the same heights on Android. Brought to this platform by DeNA and their Mobage network, Zombie farm is a typical farming sim with a undead twist – while you can grow food, you can also grow brain-hungry zombies. Installs of Zombie Farm have picked up sharply in the last 30 days, and the game was last updated on October 18th.

New Titles on the Android Top Paid Apps List

(Update) Uno – Gameloft is celebrating Halloween a little early with a mini-sale that has dropped the price on three of their games to $0.99. This sale has moved Uno into the #3 paid spot this week, with installs picking up sharply since the change. Gameloft’s adaption of the classic card game plays exactly as one remembers, but also adds a few new rules to keep gameplay interesting. Players can play with their friends over Wi-Fi in the multiplayer mode or play solo in tournament mode. Gameloft has also dropped the price on Order & Chaos Online and BackStab HD to $0.99 as part of its sale.

Haunted House HD – Just in time for Halloween, the latest live wallpaper app from DualBoot Games is adding a seasonally appropriate touch to this week’s paid charts. Haunted House HD give users the ability to create a spooky, animated wallpaper that can be totally customized and then explore the scene they’ve created. Users can put their own name on the mailbox, choose if they want Jack O’ Lanterns out and more. Haunted House HD is currently the #24 top paid app and costs $1.99.

(Update) The Sims 3 – This week several EA titles have moved up the Android charts, thanks to a big sale that has dropped the price of the publisher’s games by up to 65%. After a price drop to $4.99, The Sims 3 is sitting in the #26 spot on the paid chart. The Android version of the game is the same as the PC version – players must keep their sims happy, employed, fed but can also cater to more unique desires with the game’s Goals and Wishes system. The Sims 3 normally costs $6.99 and was last updated on September 6th.

Spider Jack – Moving down to #40 is Spider Jack, a puzzle game credited to mobile publisher Chillingoand independent developer MaxNick. The game challenges players to help out an adorable, yet ravenous spider named Jack, who needs to spin a web that will capture all the flies buzzing around him. The cut-the-rope-esque game has 75 levels, many of which can be solved multiple ways. Spider Jack costs $0.99.

Muffin Knight – This week’s last paid app is #45 ranked Muffin Knight. The $1.99 platformer from Angry Mob Games follows the quest of a boy who has to return a fairy’s magical muffins. The problem is each muffin is cursed and turns him into a different type of creature, a twist that allows Angry Mob to throw in plenty of different gameplay mechanics and attacks. Muffin Knight was updated on October 21st with Halloween themed content, a new difficulty mode and localization for French, Italian, German and Spanish. It is currently on sale for 33% off.

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